Spiraling Addiction!

We're out of control. I think that my darling husband, the one who rarely reads fiction of his own volition, was just possessed by a heart thumping dramatic teenage girl. Not that he's acting like one, just reading like one. He began reading twilight, finished it last night. Before I let him move on I did something mean. I made him read the last section of the book, which was the first chapter of the next one.

Boy was he mad! He hasn't stopped reading New Moon...well, purposefully at least. It is now 9:52 pm, roughly 24 hours since he picked it up and he just finished New Moon! This does not happen. It usually takes him at least a week to read a book, but typically longer.

I am not so lucky. I am only a little more than halfway through Breaking Dawn, and let me tell you the first half was so intense that I almost had to go online to look for spoilers so I could stop stressing about it. And I don't do crap like that. I don't even read the back of the book covers because I want to be completely surprised. So my near want for a spoiler was very out of character.

But I powered through and now that I'm more than half way through I have finally come to a place I feel like I can stop without constantly worrying and wondering.

Good books... understatement.
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Slacker Sunday

Holy Cow, two posts in one day? Especially when we haven't been putting much effort in to post. I know, I know. I'm breaking my own rule about not wasting posts. Not to mention its a Sunday and not many people even read Sunday. But I just thought I'd share that I'm a total slacker today.

I have a lot of laundry I could be doing, and a dishwasher I could unload, but right now its nap time and instead I'm going to lay on the couch listening to my Pandora station inspired by the soundtrack from the motion picture Juno (great flick! not just for chicks, Jim LOVED it. He is my Paulie Bleeker!) So I'm just going to lay back, read and chill with some tunes.

This is the book I'm reading. Well, I can't say I've spent much time reading it. But I'm ready to hunker down and spend a few hours doing nothing but. Its called Dreamhunter and its a Young Adult book I picked because I was in a hurry and we had to leave the library. Plus my kids are loud. I really wanted to read the Uglies. I heard about this series on NPR, where you know I get most of my information, and it sound really great. All the books in this series were out so I grabbed Dreamhunter instead because it was in the same section and close at hand. Plus I do like the title.

I'll let you know how it is. So far its interesting enough, but I'm not in deep enough to have a real idea of what its going to be like.

Happy Sunday again, what are you doing today?

I Have No Title, But We're Talking Books Again

I have loved to read for as long as I can remember. When I was little my dad would buy me a new book a couple days a week. I would sit in his lap every night before bed and he would read to me.

We already talked about how my third grade teacher bought me my very first Laura Ingalls Wilder book. Sassy says Miss Tuttle was an alcoholic, but I say that wasn't until I passed into the fourth grade.

Miss Tuttle's nipping at the bottle began a few years later when Sassy arrived at the elementary school. She often turns people to drink. Believe you me.

Anyway, I loves me some books. And instead of chatting about the books we are currently reading, let's take a trip down memory lane.

Here are some of my favorites when I was younger.

I loved the Little House books, but I hated when Laura called Almanzo "Manly". That creeped me out for some reason.

And Paula Danziger! and Judy Blume! So good. So so so very good. I loved Starring Sally J. Friedman as Herself so much that I just reserved at my library.

They happen to have a new edition, but I requested the one with the original cover of the cute girl looking in the mirror.

So they have to order it from another library, which I am certain will make one of the very mean librarians annoyed with me. Which is really nothing new. She is often annoyed with me. I haven't figure out why but that's another blog for another day.

And who didn't read A Cat Ate My Gym Suit? If you didn't, you need to. And should I be underlining the titles to the books instead of italicizing?

And The Pistachio Prescription! Oh, I just might need to place a reserve on that one too.

Judy Blume could get a little racy too. Anyone remember Forever? I do. Because I loaned it to my friend and her dad saw it and proceeded to burn it. Then he called my mom to discuss how I was trying to corrupt his daughter. Good times. Good times.

VC Andrews scared me, but I still read the Flowers in the Attic series. Now those books would have definitely been burned by my friend's dad if he saw them.

I also liked more serious books and The Hiding Place had a huge impact on me when I was thirteen.

So, tell us. What were your favorite books growing up? Did you read any of the ones I have listed here?












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Night Kitchen

This is one of our favorite things to watch and read. Its so weird...and funny. And Kiki really likes it. Once, at dinner, JimmyEW told him to drink his milk. Kiki replied very ho-hum
"I'm not the milk and the milk's not me."
It made us laugh hard.

Enjoy


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Books Are Your Friend

When I was a little girl my dad used to bring me a new book home almost every single day. I was his favorite. (If Sassy was proofing this right now she would be rolling her eyes.) (I'm sure there has been the collective eye-roll among all seven of my siblings.) (They're jealous.) I would sit on my dad's lap each night after the evening news and he would read to me. Thus began my love for all-things-books.

When I was in third grade, my teacher Miss Tuttle noticed how much I loved to read and bought me my very own copy of Little House in the Big Woods. I was her favorite as well.

Almost nothing makes me happier than a really good book. I get GIDDY when I receive an email from my library letting me know a book I reserved is ready to be picked up.

I devour books. And I like all kinds. Since I am my husband's favorite, he built me a pine bookcase in our family room so I can gaze lovingly at my collection whenever I want to. I'm more than a little annoyed that he took over a couple shelves for his Cd's. But, whatever.

You will usually find me reading one fiction book and one non-fiction at the same time. Some people don't get how I can do this, but it works for me. I don't have a problem shifting gears between learning about how toxic and nuts Tom Cruise or Rosie O'Donnel is and reading the latest Stephanie Plum craziness. Or reading a book that will help me become a better wife and then picking up my book about some southern drama by Dorthea Benton Frank.

I usually have a pretty decent list of books ready for me to read. Except this week. I've got nothing. And it makes me feel like something is missing. So, help a sister out. I want your recommendations.

What are you reading right now? AND, What is the best book you have read in the last year?

Here are some of my all-time favorites:



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No See TV: Monday Week in Review

Wow. I realized Sunday night I didn't have a blog for Monday! Here I am, sitting in church trying to listen to the sermon about the walk to Emmaus, and I'm thinking about blogging. I didn't even realize I was doing it. Bad me.

Normally, I try my best to blog ahead of time, on the weekends JimmyEW works, his late nights and during my lunch hour. That way we can spend our time together gazing into each other's eyes instead of me blogging and him watching me blog. Lol! So when I was sitting in church I suddenly felt like a girl who forgot she had a book report on Monday. Therefore, I am giving you a book report (oddly) and a few movie reviews. Enjoy.



Stardust, is a wonderfully fun movie based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman. This movie is about a young man of interesting origin, going on a quest to find a fallen star for the snooty English village girl he "loves". The star ends up being Claire Danes and there are numerous bad guys after her. There is magic, adventure, love, unicorns and, my favorite, a cross dressing pirate. JimmyEW LOVED this movie and I quite enjoyed it. It doesn't have any bad language, that I can remember, no nudity but has some scary witch stuff.

The Author, Neil, is good friends with Tori Amos and wrote this novel while staying at a house she lent him. In the book she appears as a tree, she didn't make the movie (they filmed it but it got cut, and I didn't see it in the deleted scenes-sad face). I am definitely going to read this book now. Because as much as I enjoyed the Movie, I am certain the book will be better.




Across the Universe was a JimmyEW pick and was absolutely entertaining to watch. The movie takes place during the turmoil of the 60's, race riots and Vietnam. This movie is essentially a musical with cast members dancing and singing to the Beatles and other artists of the day. Bono, who everyone knows I love, makes an appearance wearing a fake nose. He plays a psychedelic guru and he sings! Any U2 fan will find this movie worth the watch just for that part.

The only thing I didn't like about this movie was that I didn't find the main characters terribly compelling and didn't find myself very invested in their future. I was, however, very invested in Max, the brother of the main character. You should watch it just to see him.

Below, is probably my favorite part of the movie, its all about Max trying to get out of the draft. Just watch and try not to go rent this movie afterwards. Regardless of the flaws in charecter development, Across the Universe is so fun to watch that you really don't care. You are just caught up in the action, song and dance.




Plus, the end, for me, rivaled the end of Say Anything with the whole boombox scene. It has some nudity, sex, drug use and Strong language. I don't think they use the F-word though.



I watched Enchanted Saturday night with my mother (then again on Sunday with JimmyEw...who had just watched it while I was at church. He had a tummy ache). This movie was excellent. It was fun, clean and has a great love story. Susan Sarandon is wonderful as the Queen and Amy Adams does an excellent job as playing an illustrated maiden in the real world. Just watch how she holds her hands. I think this was probably my favorite of the three, JimmyEW's was Stardust.

Finally...the book I finished this week. If you can call what I did "reading" since I didn't really absorb it...

This book has a very compelling storyline. Its based on an African cultural belief about death and the dead. Some cultures believe that you die but don't depart in the great otherworld but instead first go into a sort of waiting world. You remain there for as long as you are remembered by the living. And not like all of us remember Abe Lincoln, but how we remember people in our life. Our parents, our neighbor, the lady that drives the bus. All those people stay around in "the city" until the very last person who knew them in life dies. This book is about those people and about a living woman who is trying to survive alone in the Arctic. It is about connections you make, the people you remember and the life you live while alive and dead.

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to love it. I was so excited about reading it. But I had a very hard time with it. I found myself skipping entire chapters, which I NEVER do. To me, it almost read like a series of short stories and memories and I wanted to know what was going to happen. It went by painfully slow for me. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right mood to read this book. Maybe I wanted something that was more fast paced, I don't know. But it is worth a look, I wouldn't nix this book just because I didn't love it. As I said, it has an interesting story and the whole end of world theme gives you something to chew on.

So there you have it. That's what I did all week. Let me know if you've enjoyed any of the things I've talked about here, especially if you have a different opinion.
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The Postman Always Poops Once and other ramblings

I recently started my new position as a property manager for a luxury condominium community. My office is located inside a beautiful clubhouse where the fireplace is always warm and cozy and happy music is playing in the background. You will usually find me in my office enjoying a nice cup of coffee with my favorite creamer as I go about my daily tasks of running the joint.

Before this job I was in outside sales. The money was great, it was always exciting and challenging. After awhile, though the stress made my eye twitch, my heart race and I transformed into an awful wife and mom. Plus in the winter my feet were always cold. Always. So I left the world of B2B sales and came to this less stressful environment.

This job is a piece of cake and in this economy I am very grateful to be making decent money, receiving generous benefits and not having a boss in the near vicinity. But I'm bored. You can usually catch me watching Oprah out my office door in the afternoon wishing someone would come in needing my expertise. About anything. Heck, I'd help them fill out grocery list if they asked.

The monotony of my day is broken up by my friendly mailman. The first time I met him he introduced himself, gave me my mail and took off around the corner in the opposite direction of the door. I figured he was thirsty. The man seemed to be thirsty every single day.

I happened to follow him out of my office one afternoon and realized he was not walking to the kitchen to get a sip of water or a cup of coffee. Oh no. He was stopping in the men's room. And staying there a really long time. Apparently my mailman's biological clock is set to occur every day at my stop. He is doing his business in my office with no embarrassment or apologies. Every day.

And, can I just point out how very different women are in this regard? When I worked for a company that had a unisex restroom (Stupidest. Idea. Ever.) my friend TK and I would go to the Shell station to take care of our business. It was done privately and discreetly. I cringe now every day when I see the mail truck pull up. I just know way too much about the poor guy now.

Speaking of which, this reminds me of the very funny chapter book Logan and I are reading this week. It's part of a series and if you have a typical boy with "boy" humor, he will love to read Captain Underpants And The Perilous Plot Of Professor Poopypants (Captain Underpants) We've been reading this all week and it has just been a hoot. I'm sensing a pattern here.

(When I picked Logan up from school this week, he announced that he likes to pee in the snow in our backyard (When, son? And why?) Curious, I asked him why. He said simply, "No flush. No wash". It seems that part of the bathroom visit has been cramping his style.)

The time has come for me to address a very serious topic. I would like to share with you an important lesson I learned this week. (Please pay attention so that you never have to go through the pain and frustration that I experienced.)

It's about shoes, my friends. And missing out on really really good sales. I am not a fan of shopping just for the sake of shopping. That's just not my nature. But I love a cute shoe and I live for a good deal.

I went to the mall with my friend Kali and was devastated to learn that I was a day late and a dollar short. There was a sale that I did not know about.

If you are like me and not a regular shopper, you are not informed about upcoming sales and special stock that is scheduled to arrive in your favorite shops. You do not have the opportunity to make friends with the sales person who will be earning a nice commission check off your purchases.

Really bad things can happen when you are not privy to this information.

Like this. Would you just look at these adorable shoes I missed out on! They are only $25.00. Twenty. Five. Dollars. And they are soft and supple and cute and cheap.

If I wore a size 10, I would be in cute-shoe heaven. But, I do not, so I am not.

Kali and I also found some Uggs marked down from $250.00 to $60.00. Again, if I had big ol' giant Sasquatch feet I would have been a shoe-in (I am so sorry. I just had to use that pun). Unfortunately, I have delicate and adorable size 7 feet. As do all the skinny, heavy-diamond wearing, Mercedes-driving, nanny-hiring, house cleaner-employing, spa-treatment-getting, lettuce-eating women who have the time to flit about the mall and snatch these bad boys up before I get there.

It wasn't all bad though. Just take a peek at what I found for my bedroom? It's at TJ Maxx and it's on clearance for only $15.00. My husband (unlike a lot of husbands) actually enjoys being a part of the process of selecting paint colors, flooring, furniture and paintings. We usually agree on our choices and have fun doing this together. I took a picture of this to make sure he liked it too. He's a bit iffy. What do you think? I think it's fab.

On a final note I have some celebrity news. It's been a somber week with Heath Ledger dying, messed-up Brittney losing custody of her two sons, Lindsay having to work in a morgue as part of her parole requirements.

Let's talk about something happy now.

Have you ever watched that TLC show about the Duggar family? They have 17 biological children (whose names all start with the letter J). Michelle Duggar is a very happy, laid back mom who runs a tight ship, home schools her children and has a debt-free household. Well, she finally got rid of her really big hair. This is cause for celebration. All of the moms around the world are rejoicing for this one sister who has been saved from outdated hair. Amen, and have a great day.

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It's A Winter Wonderland or The Storm That Killed My Weekend Getaway

This weekend I was supposed to co-host a baby shower for my sister-in-law B. B and P are adopting a gorgeous little boy from Guatemala. They have been waiting for all the "i's" to be dotted and "t's" to be crossed so they can finally bring him home. He turns one today and will be joining his mom and dad very soon. B and P need the essentials to make sure they are prepared for the new addition to the family.

We are so excited for them. They will be the most amazing parents and we can't wait to love-on this new addition to our family. My sisters-in-law and I have been planning this shower and I was really looking forward to travelling downstate to celebrate. I have never spent any time with my husband's family without him coming along. This was going to be a new experience for me. I was looking forward to learning all sorts of secrets about Tom.

But (there is always a but)...the storm hit. We heard a loud CRACK and part of our tree crashed down. The wind is a-blowing. Temperatures are below zero and there will be blowing and drifting snow all weekend. All of the schools were closed yesterday and I almost went into the ditch on my way to work. The slip- sliding scared me so much that Logan learned a new word. It rhymes with spit. I said it about five times real fast while trying to gain control of the car. ~sigh~

Tom decided it just wouldn't be safe for me to drive four hours downstate for the baby shower in the bad weather. He likes to think he's the boss of me and I like to humor him. So, I am staying home.

As disappointed as I am it's still the weekend, therefore I must do something. Here are some of the things I am planning:

Make this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Logan and I can do it together and PW promises it will make my husband worship the ground upon which I walk. Now, really. Who wouldn't want that?

Read this book.The title says it all: "Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office ". Now how funny is that? A nice, easy and funny read. I can't wait to start it.


I can also start on this book. Shalee wrote a review about it that finally made me want to read a Koontz book. I've always been afraid, but I am about to face my fear and do it anyway. I picked this book up at my library yesterday.



Kidnap Sassy and drag her to see P.S. I Love You. The book was amazing and I heard great things about the movie. I don't usually like the movie versions of books that I love, but my librarian promises me that they did a good job. By now, you probably realize that I have a great love for my library. And my librarian.


I also rented a couple movies. I rented For Your Consideration a few times already (about three or four times to be honest) and we just never got around to watching it. Not because we had something better to do. Oh no. Usually it's because we don't want to get up and walk over to the television and put the movie in the DVD player. So instead, we flipped through the channels and made fun of Brett Michaels in Rock of Love, talked about how crabby Kate is in John and Kate Plus 8 or watched any version of Law & Order. Pathetic, I know. But I am committed to watching it this weekend. How can we go wrong with Christopher Guest?

In honor of our winter wonderland here in Northern Michigan, I also rented Snow Day for the family to watch. I'm pretty sure Logan will take one look at it and complain because it doesn't include football, Ninja Turtles or Power Rangers. Once he gets over his bad self I am sure he will enjoy it. Plus, it looks like it may have an adequate amount of boy humor to satisfy him.

The weekend won't be bad, I guess. I will get to snuggle with my boys, read good books, go to Mass, watch funny movies and drink some spiked hot chocolate. Well, mine and Tom's will be spiked. Logan will have marshmallows in his.

What are you doing this weekend?

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Like You Care About My Resolutions.

Truly, how many bloggers are out there this week writing about how they're going to turn a new leaf and make new changes in their lives for the new year? They're going to get a better job, make more money, lose weight, what have you. Most of us go strong for a few weeks then throw our resolutions to the way side. So this year my resolutions will be tracked periodically here with my good Sister Honey Bunch by my side and maybe a reader or two.

So this year's resolution is (drum roll please)

Prepare For Rain

What does that mean? Well I watched a little movie that had an excellent story (however mediocre to bad acting) and that movie was called Facing Giants. It's a faith based movie surrounding good old southern football but what I took away from it was how faith can change your life. Now I've always been a girl who's had a strong faith, I call it my "Semi-Charmed Life" and my favorite part of the bible has always been the part about the woman who had been bleeding for an insane number of years and she goes to touch Jesus robe thinking if she can just touch it she will be healed. And Jesus does heal her saying "You faith has healed you". My Semi-Charmed life has always been activated in times of crisis and turmoil. Things slide by and I survive by the grace of God alone. I have always had faith in his ability to protect and care for me but I've never thought of faith in him just plain taking care of me before the crisis comes. Prepare for rain is a whole other level of faith.

This comes from a story in the movie this guy tells the Football Coach. It's about two farmers who pray to God for rain during a drought, both farmers put it in God's hands but only one farmer goes out and prepares his field for the rain, which farmer do you think trusted God more?

So I have more resolutions, but this year I'm going to prepare that they will come to fruition this time. So here they are:

1. Find joy in my body
2. Eat better and exercise more
3. Get a homestead.
4. Read the bible all the way through
5. Get that Tattoo
6. Write in this blog and have fun with it.

Preparing for rain doesn't apply to all of these but my husband and I have already decided to start packing so we'll be ready to move when it does rain and I think I'll buy a pair of dream pants for when it rains. The rest I'll just track through here. So whether you care or not, here it is!

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